Convert PPTX to SVG with C#

To convert a Microsoft PowerPoint Open XML presentation (PPTX) file to a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file, use the Document Converter Services (DCS) API. This conversion involves generating a separate SVG file for each slide in a multipage presentation.

DCS doesn’t support direct PPTX-to-SVG conversion out of the box. However, you can enable this workflow by configuring the GdPicture converter to use full fidelity.

Prerequisites

Update the DCS configuration file to include a Fidelity="Full" entry for the GdPicture converter. Duplicate the existing GdPicture entry and modify it as demonstrated in the code snippet below:

<add key="GdPicture" description="GdPicture Converter" fidelity="Full" maxInstances="16" supportedExtensions="docx,docm,dotx,doc,dot,txt,htm,html,mht,mhtml,xml,tif,xls,rtf,odt,xlsx,xlsm,ppt,pptx,pptm,ps,msg,eml,dxf,cur,wsq,gif,bmp,cut,dds,dib,dicom,exif,exr,fax,g3,hdr,heif,heic,iff,ico,j2k,j2c,webp,jb2,jbig2,jif,jfif,jng,jp2,jpeg,jpg,jpe,koa,lbm,mng,pbm,pcd,pct,pict,pic,pcx,pdf,pfm,pgm,psd,png,pnm,ppm,ras,raw,rle,sgi,svg,tga,targa,tiff,tif,wbmp,wap,wbm,xbm,xpm" supportedOutputFormats="pdf" type="Muhimbi.DocumentConverter.WebService.GdPictureConverter,Muhimbi.DocumentConverter.WebService, Version=1.0.1.1, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=c9db4759c9eaad12" />

After updating the configuration file, restart Document Converter Services.

Implementation

Use the OpenService and CloseService methods from the DocumentConverterServiceClient sample code to send a conversion request. This method processes each slide in the PPTX file and generates a corresponding SVG output:

          /// <summary>
        /// Convert a PPTX file into SVG file.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="ServiceURL">URL endpoint for the PDF converter. service</param>
        /// <param name="sourceFileName">Source filename</param>
        /// <param name="targetFolder">Target folder to receive the output file</param>
        static void PPTX_To_SVG(string ServiceURL, string sourceFileName, string targetFolder)
        {
            DocumentConverterServiceClient client = null;
            try
            {
                client = OpenService(ServiceURL);
                byte[] convFile = PPTX_To_PDF(client, sourceFileName);
                if(convFile!= null)
                {
                    PDFToSVG(client, convFile, sourceFileName, targetFolder);
                }
                else
                {
                    Console.WriteLine($"Conversion of {sourceFileName} to intermediate PDF failed");
                }
                Console.WriteLine(targetFolder);
            }
            catch (FaultException<WebServiceFaultException> ex)
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"FaultException occurred: ExceptionType: {ex.Detail.ExceptionType.ToString()}");
                Console.WriteLine();
                Console.WriteLine($"Error Detail: {string.Join(Environment.NewLine, ex.Detail.ExceptionDetails)}");
                Console.WriteLine($"Error message: {ex.Message}");
                Console.WriteLine();
                Console.WriteLine($"Error reason: {ex.Reason}");
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
                Console.WriteLine(ex.StackTrace);
                Console.WriteLine(ex.Data.ToString());
            }
            finally
            {
                if (client != null)
                {
                    CloseService(client);
                }
            }
        }


        /// <summary>
        /// Convert a PPTX file into a PDF file returning the PDF as a byte array.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="client">Service client</param>
        /// <param name="sourceFileName">Source filename</param>
        /// <returns>PDF file as byte array</returns>
        static byte[] PPTX_To_PDF(DocumentConverterServiceClient client, string sourceFileName)
        {
            byte[] convFile = null;
            Console.WriteLine($"Converting file {sourceFileName}");


            // ** Determine the source file and read it into a byte array.
            byte[] sourceFile = File.ReadAllBytes(sourceFileName);


            //** Set the absolute minimum open options.
            OpenOptions openOptions = new OpenOptions();
            openOptions.OriginalFileName = Path.GetFileName(sourceFileName);
            openOptions.FileExtension = Path.GetExtension(sourceFileName);


            // ** Set the absolute minimum conversion settings.
            ConversionSettings conversionSettings = new ConversionSettings();
            conversionSettings.Fidelity = ConversionFidelities.High;  // Set conversion to use GDPicture engine (added entry in config)
            conversionSettings.Quality = ConversionQuality.OptimizeForPrint;


            // ** Carry out the conversion.
            convFile = client.Convert(sourceFile, openOptions, conversionSettings);


            return convFile;
        }


        /// <summary>
        /// Convert a PDF to a collection of SVG files.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="client"></param>
        /// <param name="sourceFile">A byte array containing a PDF file</param>
        /// <param name="sourceFileName">Filename of the source file that had been converted into the PDF</param>
        /// <param name="targetFolder">Target folder to receive the output file</param>
        static void PDFToSVG(DocumentConverterServiceClient client, byte[] sourceFile, string sourceFileName, string targetFolder)
        {
            // Create minimum `OpenOptions` object.
            OpenOptions openOptions = new OpenOptions();
            openOptions.OriginalFileName = Path.GetFileName(sourceFileName);


            // Create minimum `PatternHighlightSettings`.
            PDFToOfficeSettings pDFToOfficeSettings = new PDFToOfficeSettings();
            pDFToOfficeSettings.OfficeType = OfficeTypes.SVG;
            pDFToOfficeSettings.PageRange = "*";
            // Create target folder if required
            if (!Directory.Exists(targetFolder))
            {
                Directory.CreateDirectory(targetFolder);
            }


            // ** Open the service and configure the bindings.


            // Convert the pages to SVG files
            BatchResults batchResults = client.PDFToSVG(sourceFile, openOptions, pDFToOfficeSettings);


            // If results are returned.
            if (batchResults != null && batchResults.Results != null && batchResults.Results.Length > 0)
            {
                // For each result.
                foreach (BatchResult result in batchResults.Results)
                {
                    // Get the filename.
                    string filename = result.FileName;
                    string destinationFileName = Path.GetFullPath(Path.Combine(targetFolder, filename));
                    Console.WriteLine(destinationFileName);
                    // Write the file content to a file
                    using (FileStream fs = File.Create(destinationFileName))
                    {
                        fs.Write(result.File, 0, result.File.Length);
                        fs.Close();
                    }
                    Console.WriteLine("File converted to " + destinationFileName);
                }
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Nothing returned");
            }
        }